Since people generally expect lighter news stories in the ."Other News" thread, I decided to start this thread for news that doesn't necessarily warrant its own thread, but generally leaves you feeling worse or is just plain morbid.

One room, where the suspect or suspects are believed to have stayed, had a mattress, fridge and weapons, Cannon said.

"The rest of the house was cordoned off, and it's where the individuals held against their will were staying -- in squalid conditions. There was one bathroom. It was filthy," the spokesman added. "The windows were boarded with plywood, and the doors were dead bolted. You can only enter from outside."

Most of those rescued said they had been at the house for two to four days, but one woman said she had been there 15 days.

Three additional suspects were caught trying to flee the residence, bringing the number of people detained to five.

The Bayside Middle School student, Adrionna Harris, said she took a razor blade away from another student because he was using it to cut himself. She threw the blade away and told school officials. Then she was suspended for 10 days, with a recommendation for expulsion, according to Virginia Beach news station WAVY.

Note that Harris didn't even have the razor blade in her possession when she went to school administrators. The only evidence this razor blade existed is Harris' own admission of it, when she told school officials what had happened and that she had already thrown it away.

The birds were killed over two consecutive nights, with their bodies found on Friday and then Saturday. Some had their heads cut off or torn off, while others were stabbed to death, reports Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Zoo director Manfred Niekisch calls this a "shocking incident" and staff are "speechless". It is not clear who or what killed the birds, but stab wounds suggest it was done by humans. Police have referred to "one or several previously unknown perpetrators" and Niekisch believes animals such as foxes or raccoons could have played a role.

Strangely, very little blood was found at the scene. Police say they are considering whether the birds were stolen from the zoo and killed, before their bodies were returned. In 2007, three flamingos at the same zoo died in a similar manner. The seven-year-old case is still unresolved.

Would've made more sense if it was geese or swans. Those bastards are evil. Also, dinosaurs. Evil dinosaurs.

Clown stalking NY. That reminds me, if you are going in a dangerous neighborhood, would it make you safer to wear a creepy clown outfit? I get the feeling that muggers and beggars would leave you alone.

Last February 14, Justin Carter, then 18 years old, was indicted on a charge of "terroristic threat," a third-degree felony which carries a potential penalty of up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The "crime"? A Facebook comment.

Carter enjoyed the online video game League of Legends, and often chatted on Facebook with other players. Internet conversations are not the most civil and polite interactions – occasionally marked by obnoxious verbal jabs, rude but essentially meaningless. In February, Carter got into a verbal exchange with another player, who suggested he was dangerous or crazy. He responded sarcastically, "I'm fucked in the head alright, I think I'ma SHOOT UP A KINDERGARTEN [...] AND WATCH THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT RAIN DOWN [...] AND EAT THE BEATING HEART OF ONE OF THEM."

The comment, made two months after the Sandy Hook school massacre, was screencapped by a Canadian woman who alerted police in Texas. Carter was initially jailed in Austin, but was moved to Comal County when it was determined that's where he actually lived. According to his pro bono San Antonio attorney, Donald Flanary, the police didn't search his house and his father's house until weeks after the arrest. They found no weapons nor threatening documents, nor anything other than the computer used to make the comments. Jennifer Carter has said that her son has "never had any kind of fascinations with real guns or anything. He didn't even own a pocket knife. The only kind of gun he was ever around were those plastic guns you use in video games," according to James Rob*erts of local blog The Horn.

Carter's bond was set at a headline-grabbing $500,000; on July 11, 2013, an anonymous donor paid it. Prior to his release, Carter endured harassment and physical abuse from other inmates, and then, reportedly for his own protection, solitary confinement. He's currently living with his grandmother in San Antonio; the conditions of his bond prevent him from living with anyone under the age of 18, even his two siblings. Additionally, he can't be within a thousand feet of any place children may gather, nor can he use the Internet, so he's been unable to find a job.

In a July 3, 2013, press release, Comal County Criminal District Attorney Jennifer Tharp said that most of the county's cases are resolved through plea negotiations. Flanary said, "They've offered things – but unless they are willing to dismiss it, there is no deal." Jennifer Carter, Justin's mother, confirmed that her son has rejected offers of ten years and eight years in prison. "We don't believe you should say that you're guilty for something that you didn't do," she said. Tharp's press release stated that, in the absence of a plea agreement, Carter's case "will be tried before a jury of twelve Comal County citizens," and that her office has no further comment.

Legally, the case may rest on Carter's actual intentions. Under section 22.07 of the Texas Penal Code, "A person commits an offense if he threatens to commit any offense involving violence to any person or property with intent to: cause impairment or interruption of public communications, public transportation, public water, gas, or power supply or other public service," or to "place the public or a substantial group of the public in fear of serious bodily injury."

Jennifer Carter told me that her son was clearly being sarcastic. "He was not intending to threaten anyone. He was not intending to carry out a threat against a school or children. So, why should he go to jail for that, you know? There's supposed to be free speech in this country. We're supposed to be allowed to say anything we want to, as long it's not a direct threat with serious intent behind it."

Currently, Flanary is working on a writ of habeas corpus denouncing the handling of Carter's case. He says it will include "numer*ous claims of violations of the First and Fourth and Fifth and Sixth and Eighth Amendment rights." Meanwhile, at press time, no trial date had been announced. "Basically, the hearings have just sort of kept going on and on and on," said Jennifer Carter. "They've piled so many motions I just can't keep track anymore." She and her family are trying to stay optimistic. "Every hearing, we hope that it's going to be the one where they go, 'The case is dismissed' or 'We're not going to pursue charges.' But it just keeps going on." Another hearing has been set for March 28.

Flanary commented, "Prior to [Carter's] arrest, I was optimistic that [a case like] this wouldn't happen. Then when I got on the case, I was optimistic that, in a matter of days, it would be dismissed, because it's so stupid. Then after months went on, I was optimistic that after they see us fighting and they see all this press – bad press – that they're going say, 'This is just dumb, and we're going to stop.' That didn't happen. So, am I optimistic that the judge will do the right thing? Sure. But the reality is, we are prepared to go to the highest court in the land, and, if we have to, we will."

CorruptUser wrote:Clown stalking NY. That reminds me, if you are going in a dangerous neighborhood, would it make you safer to wear a creepy clown outfit? I get the feeling that muggers and beggars would leave you alone.

CorruptUser wrote:Would've made more sense if it was geese or swans. Those bastards are evil. Also, dinosaurs. Evil dinosaurs.

Clown stalking NY. That reminds me, if you are going in a dangerous neighborhood, would it make you safer to wear a creepy clown outfit? I get the feeling that muggers and beggars would leave you alone.

I like it when they at least try to be creative with the insults. None of this "u r so gay" nonsense, go all out. Doesn't have to be particularly insulting, just crazy enough to get the other person distracted.

i've always been unsure about that.I think its ridiculous that someone thinks that can make a threat like that, and everything be ok, but the punishment is alittle much.

Doesn't read like much of a threat. It reads like the sort of drivel young and immature people sometimes write.

Incomplete context is given; it was a Facebook comment, but it doesn't say where - was it a comment on someone's private page or was it a public page?It's suggested that this was part of an extended exchange of banter/trash-talk between two people.It's not unreasonable to think that someone unfamiliar with the sort exchanges that sometimes occur online might be shocked (particularly if they read it out of context), and Facebook is used by such people.

i've always been unsure about that.I think its ridiculous that someone thinks that can make a threat like that, and everything be ok, but the punishment is alittle much.

He made a statement that was obviously in bad taste, but it's actually quite a stretch to call it a "threat" to anybody; especially in the context of the discussion it was in.

Local law enforcement over-reacted because they didn't want to appear non-responsive so soon after Sandy Hook; and the local court system made it worse. Now, it's reached a point where it's going to be a huge embarrassment (and one hell of a lawsuit) if he isn't convicted of something so they're going to keep pushing.

The police, either deliberately or negligently, misrepresented what the kid actually wrote when it was presented to the courts. Bail was set ridiculously high for a kid with no prior record, and without any evidence that he was a threat or a flight risk. People are going to lose their careers over this thing unless this kid goes to prison for a significant amount of time.

I for one hope to see him released, free and clear, and that he and his family sue everyone involved into oblivion.

Xenomortis wrote:Doesn't read like much of a threat. It reads like the sort of drivel young and immature people sometimes write.

Incomplete context is given; it was a Facebook comment, but it doesn't say where - was it a comment on someone's private page or was it a public page?It's suggested that this was part of an extended exchange of banter/trash-talk between two people.It's not unreasonable to think that someone unfamiliar with the sort exchanges that sometimes occur online might be shocked (particularly if they read it out of context), and Facebook is used by such people.

This. One can find far worse (and more likely serious) comments all over facebook, youtube, etc every day of the week.

The birds were killed over two consecutive nights, with their bodies found on Friday and then Saturday. Some had their heads cut off or torn off, while others were stabbed to death, reports Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Zoo director Manfred Niekisch calls this a "shocking incident" and staff are "speechless". It is not clear who or what killed the birds, but stab wounds suggest it was done by humans. Police have referred to "one or several previously unknown perpetrators" and Niekisch believes animals such as foxes or raccoons could have played a role.

Strangely, very little blood was found at the scene. Police say they are considering whether the birds were stolen from the zoo and killed, before their bodies were returned. In 2007, three flamingos at the same zoo died in a similar manner. The seven-year-old case is still unresolved.

It turns out that after doing some actual investigating, they discovered that a fox was responsible. The "stab wounds" were apparently from teeth.

Phryne was a courtesan who was on trial in Greece. She stripped naked and said that she was too beautiful to be evil. The court agreed.

Very common theme for renaissance painters. Doesn't hurt that the watershed moment for the renaissance was a painting based on an older painting that was based on Phryne's naked bath time escapades. No, seriously.

This might have been "in other news" last time, but the tone might be more appropriate for here.

I can, in some case, understand the giraffe, but I feel the lions are going a bit too far. Killing lions because they might die seems, frankly, a bit nonsensical to me. "There is a decent probability of death. To address this, we're going to implement the solution of certain death."

Eh, the Zoroastrians had it right. Fire cleanses all; set the world aflame and The Master of the Light will purify the land of all the filth. Suffer not the unclean to live. BURN! EVERYTHING WILL BURN! BECOME ONE WITH THE FLAME!

*ahem*

I just love that we actually have a religion that worships a fire god. And oddly, Fire and Earth are holy, while Water and Air are the evil ones (unlike in most depictions, where they are reversed). Oh and that happens to be what all the Abrahamic religions are loosely based on.

This might have been "in other news" last time, but the tone might be more appropriate for here.

I can, in some case, understand the giraffe, but I feel the lions are going a bit too far. Killing lions because they might die seems, frankly, a bit nonsensical to me. "There is a decent probability of death. To address this, we're going to implement the solution of certain death."

In any case I'm really not sure this was necessary.

This is about money. They killed the giraffe for the meat. They killed the lions for the meat and to need l3ss meat.

This might have been "in other news" last time, but the tone might be more appropriate for here.

I can, in some case, understand the giraffe, but I feel the lions are going a bit too far. Killing lions because they might die seems, frankly, a bit nonsensical to me. "There is a decent probability of death. To address this, we're going to implement the solution of certain death."

In any case I'm really not sure this was necessary.

This is about money. They killed the giraffe for the meat. They killed the lions for the meat and to need l3ss meat.

It was about money, yes; but they didn't kill the giraffe "for the meat". It was basically a budget issue. They are breeding giraffes, but this one was a sibling to the others they already have, so breeding it with them would lead to potential genetic issues. They don't have the budget to keep it around without breeding it; and they couldn't find another zoo to take it. It would never have survived in the wild, and they didn't have the money to transport it to be released in the first place. So it was put down. Since they were putting it down, the decision to use the meat to feed the lions makes more sense than simply throwing the meat away.

It was a similar situation with the lions. Lions have a social order. The two older ones would have been starved out by the pride, and the cubs would have been killed. Rather than have either of those things happen, they decided to put them down; because they don't have the money, room, or resources to keep a separate group of lions. In this case, like the giraffe, they attempted to find another home for the lions but were not successful.

Neither was a good situation, but these are the types of decisions that zoos make all the time.

Well, if the rich could end up in prison like the rest of us, there might be a push for things like "prisoner's rights" and the removal of 3 strikes laws and "rehabilitation". But then the private prisons would stop making money and the judges would stop getting indirect kickbacks! We can't have that...